July 2020

Three northern flickers (if you count the shadow)

Vancouver, Washington

Five types of insects are on my approved list: bees, ladybugs, lightning bugs, butterflies, and dragonflies. This dragonfly — the western pondhawk — gets bonus points because it eats the western malaria mosquito. The mosquito’s binomial name is Anopheles freeborni, which roughly translates to “unprofitable bohemian”.

Vancouver, Washington

Juvenile American robin on the rails

Vancouver, Washington

Columbian black-tailed deer

Vancouver, Washington

According to the Merlin Bird ID app, mourning doves “love suburbs”.

Vancouver, Washington

Busy

Vancouver, Washington

New bird on my list! According to Wikipedia, the western wood pewee (Contopus sordidulus) is a small tyrant flycatcher, which seems rather judgmental, even in Latin. I think it’s a cutie.

Vancouver, Washington

I see bunnies every day on what is now called “The Rabbit Trail” behind the house. I resist taking pictures of every one, but I couldn’t pass up this adorable one who agreed to pose for the camera.

Vancouver, Washington

A couple of ducks photobombed my picture of grass.

Vancouver, Washington

These are taller than I am. The flowers are clustered in umbels. The dried umbels detach from the plant, becoming tumbleweeds.

Wild carrot aka Queen Anne’s lace

Vancouver, Washington

New bird on my list! The white-breasted nuthatch is a celebration of consonant blends, digraphs, and trigraphs, which is to say nothing about the bird itself.

Vancouver, Washington

Creeping thistle is an “unwanted plant spreading out of control and aggressively overpowering others,” according to my plant ID app. The app says the same thing about nearly every plant around. It’s a war zone out here.

Vancouver, Washington

I’ve just broken the record for “most photos of this bird in this tree”. The previous record was set by Mrs. Florence Conklin in 1954.

California scrub-jay

Vancouver, Washington

The hawk decided it wanted to perch 18 inches to the left. Made a bit of a show of it.

Vancouver, Washington

This is:
A. a goldenrod crab spider
B. a creature from the planet OGLE-TR-56b
C. Reginald
Select all that apply.

Vancouver, Washington

Steller’s jay, just out of the shower

Vancouver, Washington

Over a season, one tansy ragwort plant may produce 2,000 to 2,500 flowers.

Vancouver, Washington

Cecil was chilling out, soaking up some rays. Then he realized that Margo was in the next tree.

Cedar waxwing

Vancouver, Washington

Sssnake ssslithering in the sssunshine

Garter snake

Vancouver, Washington

I think it’s time that this California scrub-jay be called a Washington scrub-jay. I doubt it even knows the capital of California, much less its share of the US GDP.

Vancouver, Washington

Skimmer

Vancouver, Washington

The northern flicker always looks like an exceptional painting.

Vancouver, Washington

The stare off lasted a few hours.

Columbian black-tailed deer

Vancouver, Washington

Summer had settled in at the pond. We had not seen the geese since the goslings were nearly grown a few weeks earlier. We thought we might not see them again until autumn. Then two arrived. Empty nesters now, we figured. Sure, Gerald ceaselessly embarrassed Maureen, but she loved him. It was all part of that mated-for-life reality that they both accepted — not as shackles, but as a blessing. Gerald even used the word “kismet” once, and Maureen twinkled.

Canada geese

Vancouver, Washington